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Indonesian growth beats estimates as Widodo seeks economic boost

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's economic growth surpassed analyst estimates in the final three months of 2015 as President Joko Widodostepped up efforts to revitalize Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Gross domestic product grew 5.04 per cent in the three months through December versus a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in Jakarta on Friday, exceeding all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The economy grew 4.79 per cent in 2015, from a previously reported 5.02 pace the previous year.

The Jakarta Composite Index extended gains after the data to rise 1.5 per cent as of 9.22am local time.

Since taking office in October 2014, the president, known as Jokowi, has sought to boost foreign investment, infrastructure spending and implement bureaucratic reforms to rejuvenate an economy hit by sliding commodity prices. Progress has been patchy, while the economic slowdown in China and lackluster growth elsewhere have seen exports continue to weaken.